Young Love
by Fanfic86
Summary: OOC - Stephanie and Ranger meet in Elementary School and a whirlwind friendship and romance blossoms. How does their relationship fare after 9/11 and Ranger feels the need to join the ARMY?
1. Chapter 1

**New story flowing around in my head. This is all OOC and begins when Steph and Ranger are in Elementary School. In this story Ranger is a year older than Stephanie and at first does not take place in present time. **

**As always, let me know what you think!**

***** Please accept my apologies. I wasn't thinking when I first wrote this and Ranger's name should be Carlos. I believe I have fixed that error! Thank you to my reviewers for pointing that out to me. Until 'Ranger' get's his nickname he was Carlos. Oops... **

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My name is Stephanie Plum. I grew up in Chambersburg New Jersey, more commonly referred to as 'The Burg'. I was actually born in Portland, OR but when my father died my mom moved us back to her hometown. She bought a cute little row house that was perfect for the me, my sister, and her.

Moving to a new town at 6 wouldn't be a big deal for most kids. But I was never easy. My older sister thought she was a princess and pranced around in big fluffy dresses, always making friends easy. I on the other hand, would rather climb a tree or play in the dirt.

There was a family that lived next door and my mom thought the little girl and I were close enough in age that we could get along. Sadly she was mistaken. I hadn't meant to ruin the girls dress but it was boring painting on the plain sheets of paper. Celia had a whole closet full of dresses, like Valerie's, and I thought it would be fun to try to make one look like those tie dye dresses. You know the ones with all the different spiral colors. Well, how was I supposed to know that paint not only wasn't the way to make some tie dye, but that it was her special Easter dress.

Of course her mother wasn't mad; Rosa said it gave the dress some character. I think she was just trying to be nice to me. Celia's brother, Carlos, and cousin, Lester came in just as she broke down and screamed at how we weren't friends anymore. This just made the boys laugh and my face turned bright red. It was humiliating. Not only couldn't I make friends with the neighbor girl but the boys would make fun of me for the rest of my life.

I decided to fly home. It was the most logical reasoning I could come up with at that age and I ran home, climbed the lattice in the front of the house to get to the roof and jumped. It wasn't until I was sinking towards the ground I realized people couldn't fly. There was a sharp pain in my right arm and I felt tears spring into my eyes. I almost let them fall but then I saw Celia's brother run over to me.

"Are you okay?" He asked bending down to my level. I hated that I was so small. Celia said he was only 1 year older than us but to me he was huge and I felt really small next to him.

Glaring I got up and pushed him away with my good hand. "Go away!"

His cousin laughed at him, "Dude, you let a girl push you."

My mother picked that moment to run out of the house, "Stephanie! What in the world do you think you are doing? Why would you jump off the roof?"

"I wanted to fly home."

She crossed herself, "That's nonsense, this is your home. You don't see Celia jumping off the roof off her house do you? Beside, people can't fly"

I could hear Lester and Carlos laughing as my mom took me in the house.

We drove to the hospital and it was confirmed that I had a broken arm. Great. I was sitting on the front porch later that night trying to dig a stick into the cast, it itched badly, when Carlos, Lester, and two boys I hadn't met before walked by.

"Hey Wonder Woman!" He called over to me, "Can we sign your cast?"

I shrugged and they ran over, Lester pulling a pen out of his pocket. As they got closer I realized one of the kids with them was huge. I had never seen a kid so tall before in my life. But he wasn't just tall; he was big, all around. I swear his arm was as tall as I was. Okay that might be an exaggeration but that's how I felt at the time.

They all signed my cast and I glanced at the other two names: Tank and Bobby. Forgetting that they were older and bigger than I was I laughed, "Your parents named you Tank?"

He just smiled at me and replied, "Did you really think you could fly off your roof?" I felt my cheeks flush again and turned to run into the house. My motto was to run and hide whenever possible. It was always the less painful option.

"Hey" I heard one of them call after me. "We're headed over to tag the Morelli's garage, wanna come?"

Were they really inviting me to go with them? My mom always said that boys would tell a girl anything to get them to do what they wanted. Was this one of those times that she was talking about? Who cares, I thought, anything was better than spending another minute listening to Valerie sing along to Cinderella.

"Sure." I walked with them down the street, listening to them argue and make fun of each other. "Hey, who are the Morelli's?"

"Nobody you should ever be alone with. They aren't nice boys. The youngest one, Joe, is the worst. I hear he tricks girls into his garage and then looks up their skirts." This came from Bobby and I glanced at Carlos who nodded his consent.

Lester added, "Yeah Steph, stay away from them. Unless you are with us of course." Steph? No one had ever given me a nickname before and I smiled at him. They didn't seem so bad.

Turns out I was a big help in 'painting' the garage. They gave me my own can of spray paint and we proceeded to draw designs all over the garage in the back of the house.

"Hey" Lester whispered, "the bike he stole from me is sitting in there." We all huddled over to the window; of course I couldn't see anything because I was too small. "We gotta get it back."

Tank pulled something from his pocket and pried the window open. "How are we going to get in? We're all too big for the window."

Suddenly all four boys turned to look at me. This was my chance to shine, I thought. "I could fit. Just tell me what to do once I'm in there."

Carlos lifted me around the waist and pushed me up to the window. It was difficult with one hand but I managed to squirm through and drop to the floor. Lester and Tank were standing at the back door and motioned me over. It was easy to unlock and they ruffled my hair as they walked past me. Lester grabbed his bike while Tank closed the window. Something told me they had done this kind of thing before.

"Shit!" I heard.

"Hey! What are you doing? Get out of my garage!" I didn't recognize the voice and I froze. Tank and Lester were already gone when I realized I should probably have run too. A boy just a tad smaller than Carlos appeared in the doorway. "Who are you?" He smiled and walked toward me.

"Uh…." I didn't know what to say. He closed the garage door and I panicked. I knew I shouldn't have gone off with them. How could they have all run off without me? Now I was going to get in trouble for breaking into his garage. Oh my god! All the paint, I would get in trouble for that too.

"You wanna play a game?" I backed up until I was against the car. Didn't Bobby say something about staying away from this kid?

"No. I want to go home." He didn't move.

"You shouldn't hang out with those thugs. They are always getting into trouble. You can be my friend though. But you have to play a game with me first."

"Nobody wants to be your friend Joe." Carlos said. I jumped, not realizing he had come back. "Come on Steph." He held his hand out for me.

We had been best friend since. My mom hated that I wanted to run around town with a bunch of boys but I guess she was happy that I had made a few friends. And Joe was right; they were always getting into trouble. Never me though, even though I was always with them when they would get caught breaking into someone's garage or adding color to a building. They always found a way to hide me and take the blame.

Things were pretty easy until middle school. Something changed, my mom called it puberty, and when we were hanging out they would start acting weird all of a sudden and take a lot of bathroom breaks. It was sad when they went to high school, I didn't have any other friends so I spent all of 8th grade keeping to myself.

My mom told me that I should find some nice girls to hang out with but whenever I tried to talk to them I wanted to puke. Everything was about boys and boobs and who had started their period. While I knew about boys, I didn't have boobs and I hadn't started my period yet. Again, I was left feeling weird and out of place.

My mom was wrong though, every day when I got out of school the guys would swing by and we would walk home together. The first time they did that some older kids at their school made fun of them. The next day I saw the same guy with some cuts and bruises on his face and nobody ever said anything again.

It was the last day of school and I was thrilled to finally get to start high school and be back with my friends. I was in my room trying to find some clean shorts and a tank top to change into when I heard Carlos yelling at me "Steph!"

Poking my head out the window I yelled back, "What?"

"We're headed to the lake. Are you coming?"

"Okay! Give me a minute!" I threw on my new bathing suit. It was a two piece, black with pink polka dots, and threw one of Tanks shirts on over me. Somehow I had collected pieces of all the guys clothing. Whenever we went out I would end up covered in dirt or paint and the guys would give me something of theirs to wear so my mom didn't know what we were up to.

Tank was the oldest and had just gotten his driver's license so we piled into his jeep and drove 30 minutes outside of Trenton to our favorite spot. You had to hike about a mile to get to it but we were okay with it cause nobody else ever came here.

We played in the water for hours, dunking and splashing each other before my stomach rumbled. As big as the guys were I always could out eat them. Well, sometimes Lester and I had to call it a draw. "There's some sandwiches my mom made in the bag babe." Carlos yelled to me before jumping off a tree limb into the water.

I was still getting used to his new nickname for me and tried to hide my blush. Up until this last year I was okay with us all just being friends, but I had seen all the kids at school holding hands and even some of them making out. It was hard for me at times to not look at them, especially Carlos, and wish they would kiss me or something.

I was looking through the bag, pulling out sandwiches when I heard him approach. "Steph, are you okay?"

Carlos was standing over me, looking concerned. "Yeah why?" I smiled up at him and held out a sandwich.

"You're bleeding babe." He pointed to my leg and sure enough there was blood dripping down it.

"Maybe I cut myself." It wouldn't have been the first time one of use got injured playing in the water. There were lots of sharp rocks. I ran my hand over my leg but couldn't find anything when it hit me, Oh my god! I started my period. Tears immediately formed and I grabbed a towel, quickly wrapping it around myself. My cheeks were burning and I wanted to run and hide.

Understanding dawned on Carlos's face and he pulled me in for a hug seeing the panic on mine, "It's okay Steph. I won't tell anyone." He kissed my forehead and called out to the guys, "Hey, my stomach doesn't feel so good. Let's head back."

A chorus of groans came from the water but they all got out and we headed back to the jeep. "Couldn't you have taken a shit before we left the house man?" Lester complained as we drove back home.

Carlos hit him upside the head and winked at me. I was silent the entire drive home, sure that if I spoke the other guys could tell what had happened. Before the jeep was parked I jumped out and ran for the house, not stopping when my mother called after me wondering where I had been.

While I wasn't able to hide at the lake, I spent the next week cooped up in the house. I was mortified that Carlos had seen me like that. It didn't last long and by the 5th day I was done bleeding. It was 8pm and I was lying on my back on my bed, a fan blowing on me through the window.

"Stephanie!" I heard Valerie yell from downstairs. "Your _friends_ are down here for you!" She hated Carlos and the guys and always made sure I knew it. By the way she said 'friends' I could only imagine the disgusted look she was giving them. Part of me wanted to run down to save her from saying something mean to them but the other part of me was still embarrassed.

Letting my cowardly side win out I didn't answer her and prayed they would just go away like they had the other nights this week. No such luck. I heard the unmistakable sound of them running up the stairs and before I could climb out my window my door was flown open. "Jesus! I could have been naked or something!" I yelled at them. hoping to distract from the fact that I had one leg hanging out the window.

"That's what I was hoping for." Lester teased me. I glared at him taking in how much they had all changed in just over a week.

Tank seems impossibly bigger than I remembered; Lester and Carlos both had muscles bulging under their shirts, and Bobby had started to get facial hair. We were all changing and it made me feel weird when Lester's comment sent butterflies through my stomach. This wasn't how things were supposed to be. These were just my friends; I didn't want them to see me naked… did I?

"You've been hiding in your room for a week babe." My cheeks flushed again, "Come on. There's a party at Terri Gillman's. You're coming." He pulled me out of the window where I was still contemplating jumping. With my luck they would still make me go with them. We'd just spend the first half of the night at the hospital.

"Fine. Just let me change." Everyone but Carlos stepped into the hallway. He turned and pulled out a black mini skirt and white t-shirt that said 'Cute' across the front in pink rhinestones. I stared down at the outfit. "No way am I wearing that." Besides, I thought to myself, mom had taken me bra shopping and I didn't like any of the white ones so I only had black and pink. No way could I wear a white t-shirt.

"Just hurry and find something then Steph." Carlos sighed and left me alone to get dressed.

I pulled on my new black bra surprised by how much I filled it. I wasn't as big as some of the other girls I knew but at least my chest wasn't flat anymore. I guess that was one plus to finally getting my period. Throwing on a pair of jean I found a similar shirt to the one Carlos had picked out. It was black and left a small part of my stomach showing if I raised my arms. This would have to do.

I met the guys in the hallway and we left for Terri's house. Terri's father was rumored to be in the mob so nobody every interfered when she threw a party. The place was huge and you had to drive down a long private road to reach it. Music was blaring as we arrived and there were tons of kids. I knew most of them, having gone to elementary and middle school with most of them, but there were a few older kids from the high school I hadn't seen before.

Lester and Bobby immediately took off with some girls and I stood, wide eyed, staring at the people around me. Please don't let Carlos and Tank ditch me, please don't let Carlos and Tank ditch me. I figured if I said it over and over again then the universe would do some magic and keep them by my side all night.

"Hey Carlos." I turned to see who had approached and held back a gag when I saw Joyce Barnhardt sidle up next to him. Carlos grinned down and at her. "Will you dance with me?" I watched him walk away with her and for the first time felt a pain in my heart. What the hell? Carlos was just my friend. No way was I going to get jealous of him dancing with another girl. Accept he wasn't just dancing with her, they were kissing too. Damn.

I knew this day would come. The day we all realize it just isn't normal for a girl to be friends with a bunch of guys without feeling left out somehow. As much as they tried to treat me like one of them, we all knew there were things that would eventually draw a line in the sand.

Tank threw his arm around me. "Guess it's just you and me Beautiful." He led me into the kitchen and took a beer off the counter. I spent the next couple of hours following Tank around, hoping that Carlos would eventually join us. He never did.

Bobby was the only one who found us and he drove us home since Tank had been drinking. That was the first night I cried over Carlos. There were many other nights like that during the summer, but I never said anything and as far as I knew Carlos never knew how I felt.

My first two years of high school flew by. Finally I met some girls that I clicked with; Mary Lou and Lula. While I still spent most of my time with the boys it was nice to have girls to talk about girl things with. Especially when Carlos started dating. By the time my junior year of high school rolled around Lester and Morelli were competing to see who could sleep with the most girls. Tank and Lula had been 'dating' off and on, while Bobby and Mary Lou were closer. Carlos, I had no idea. Whenever we went to a party there was always a girl that would catch his attention and he would disappear for the rest of the night. Unlike the other guys he never talked about it though.

Our group of 5 had grown to a group of 7 and while we were all still close, I had never felt so far away than I did that year. There was no denying my feelings for Carlos anymore. I found myself wishing the school year would just end so that he would go away to college and I wouldn't have to watch him flirt with other people.

It was a Friday night and Tank was on the varsity football team. We were all going to meet at the school to watch him play; Carlos and I were driving over together since we lived so close. On the ride over he cut the music off, "What's up with you babe?"

Usually when he called me babe it made me smile but I was mad at him for whatever he had been doing with those girls and tonight I scoffed. "Why do you call me that?" I snapped at him.

"See, that's what I mean. You've had this attitude lately." Attitude? He had no idea the kind of attitude I could conjure up if he wanted to see attitude. "Have I done something to upset you?"

Yes. "No."

He smiled at me, "Liar. Tell me what I did."

I hated that he could tell when I was lying. It really didn't make these types of situations any easier. I sighed, "I don't know. I guess I just feel like our group is falling apart." At least I could tell him part of the truth.

We pulled into the parking lot and he looked over at me. "Why do you feel like that?" Shrugging I looked out the window trying to avoid his gaze. He reached out and ran his hand down my hair. I wanted to lean into his touch so bad and it pissed me off to feel that way. Instead I grabbed my purse and jumped out of the car, walking towards the bleachers. "Hey, wait up!" No way.

I could hear him jogging up to me. "Stephanie." He grabbed my arm pulling me to a stop. "I have no idea what you are so upset about. We're best friend's babe. If you don't tell me what's wrong I can't fix it."

Jerking my arm out of his grasp I glared up at him, "Maybe that's the problem Carlos. We're _best friends" _I made sure to spit the word, "you all run off to your girls and I'm just stuck being the friend who is a girl that nobody thinks could be more than that."

His mouth dropped but I didn't want to hear his response. I walked right past him towards the parking lot. "Where are you going?"

"Home." I called over my shoulder.

I walked 3 miles home that night crying the whole way. There was a party after the game and I knew everyone would be going to it so I didn't bother waiting up for a phone call from Mary Lou or Lula. It was midnight when I heard my window opening.

I never kept it locked, ever since I moved here. All of us kept out windows unlocked so we could come and go as we please. Carlos stood, hands on hips, at the foot of my bed glaring down at me. "Just thought I'd make sure nobody kidnapped you on the way home." He was angry and the bite in his words stung.

"I'm sorry Carlos. I shouldn't have said anything." I mumbled. He sighed and ran his hand over his face. "If you don't want to be friends with me anymore I understand."

The sound of his laugh made me jump as he sat on the end of my bed. Growing up there were many nights Carlos and I had shared a bed. Hell, most of the time all 5 of us ended up in a dog pile at someone's house. My mother didn't approve at first but after the 3rd time I snuck out she decided to just lecture their parents to make sure no 'funny business' was going to go on. Tonight having him so close made my heart speed up. Stupid Stephanie, stupid.

"I wish you had told me you felt this way awhile ago Steph." He reached his hand out and pulled me up so I was standing between his legs, his hands running up and down my arms. "Do you have any idea how crazy you make me?"

I stiffened. What did he mean make him crazy? "No…." Good going Stephanie. You really should have just kept your mouth shut. Things will never be the same between the two of you now.

"Do you remember that day at the lake? You wore that cute little black bikini with pink polka dots." He chuckled, "God you had me so uncomfortable." He was uncomfortable? I was the one who started my period that day. My cheeks burned and I tried to pull away from him but he held my arms and pulled me closer, putting us chest to chest. "It was the first day that I started to look at you differently, and not in a bad way."

I still wasn't sure if I understood. A part of me was mortified to think he was talking about the blood. "I don't understand."

He groaned, "I know. I'm not really explaining it very well." He moved his hands from my arms and wrapped them around my waist, linking them behind my back. "I guess I started to see you as more than just a friend, but then you avoided me that week and I didn't know if it was because of… you know… " I nodded, "Or because you wanted space from us. I just assumed we had gotten to the point in our friendship where things were going to be different because we were guys and you were a girl."

Remembering that week I thought back to the party, "Then why did you make me go to the party with you? If you felt that way why would you disappear with Joyce? You didn't even come home that night!" I was getting upset remember the first night I realized how I felt about Carlos.

He looked ashamed; it was a look I have never seen on my friends face before. "I don't know Steph." He shrugged. "I didn't know how to change things with us. I guess I thought if you felt the same way you would get upset at seeing me with another girl and say something." My mouth dropped open and he laughed, "It was stupid I know."

My mind was reeling. If I had only acted on how I felt that night I wouldn't have been so miserable all these years. I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying and suddenly I felt his lips brush my neck, making me shiver.

This was a dream of mine. To have Carlos in my room, telling me he feels the same way. And here he was kissing me, I had to be asleep. I moved my hand over to my arm and pinched, "OW!"

He stopped and looked at me, raising an eyebrow. "I thought I might have been asleep. I was just checking."

He threw his head back and laughed but stopped quickly when we heard my mom yell, "Stephanie? What was that?"

Stifling my own laughter I answered, "Sorry mom. I turned my tv on and didn't realize how loud it was." Please believe me. Don't make Carlos sneak out my window.

"Just keep it down." She said. We waited to hear her door close before laughing quietly.

"Sorry," he said, pulling me back onto the bed with him.

I was nervous, I didn't know what Carlos wanted to do and, while I would do anything with him, everything was a first for me and I didn't want him to think I was stupid.

We were both lying on our sides staring at each other. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm going to kiss you now." He whispered leaning in and brushing his lips across mine. I froze, not knowing what to do, but after a couple seconds I moved my lips, matching his.

We made out and explored each other's bodies, touching and feeling, but never anything more. We both fell asleep around 4am.

It was 2 weeks before their graduation and I felt guilty for wishing this year would go by quickly months ago. Carlos and I had been dating and I have never been happier. We spent most night sneaking into the others rooms, kissing and touching, but never having sex. I think Carlos knew I wasn't quite ready for that yet.

I was in my room staring at myself in the mirror. It was Junior/Senior Prom and I wanted to make sure I looked perfect. The dress was blue to match my eyes, empire waist with rhinestones sewn through the bodice. My hair was up off my neck, the curls had decided to behave tonight so I only had to put a small amount of gel in it.

The doorbell rang and I got nervous. Carlos hadn't looked at another woman since the night we opened up about how we felt but I still worried he would find someone he liked better. Gathering my confidence I opened the door and headed down the stairs.

Carlos beamed at me, "You look beautiful babe."

We did the whole picture thing for our parents before everyone else showed up. Lester was taking a girl named Connie he met at a party, Tank and Lula obviously, and Bobby and Mary Lou. We had all pitched in for a limo and the first stop was dinner at Rossini's. It was fun and carefree, all of us used to each other's company.

The guys paid the bill and we headed off to the dance. In the Limo I heard Tank and Lester talking about a hotel room they rented out in Point Pleasant. They were trying to convince Bobby and Carlos to come out as well. "It'll be like an after party guys!" Lester whined. "You have to come. This is one of the last times we'll get to be together like this. Next year most of us will be off in college or away with the Army."

I sat up straight, "Who's going into the Army?" As far as I knew all the guys were headed off to a community college.

Tank cleared his throat and raised his hand. "Why didn't I know this?" I looked over at Carlos and Lula.

"I just found out white girl; don't get your panties all in a bunch." Lula said.

Carlos wrapped his arm around me and kissed my temple, "Sorry Steph. Tank hasn't told anyone other than us guys. He didn't want his parents to try to stop him."

I crossed my arms over my chest in a mock show of frustration. Really I was holding back the tears. Tank was going to go into the Army? Now our group was going to really be torn apart. Lester turned the music up for the rest of the ride, trying to lighten the mood.

"Hey, about the hotel room," Carlos whispered in my ear. "what do you think?" My stomach flipped. If I agreed to go back to the hotel room would he expect us to have sex? As if reading my mind he added, "No pressure babe. It'll just be fun to hang out with the group."

"Okay." I agreed.

The dance was okay. We hung out for about 2 hours before Tank and Lester were itching to head out. Carlos and I were dancing when they interrupted us. "Come on man. This place is boring."

He looked at me and I knew if I said I wanted to stay we would all stay. "It's okay. We'll probably have more fun alone anyway." Not thinking about what I said Carlos lifted an eyebrow and Lester grinned at me. "What?"

They laughed, "Nothing."

In the limo to Point Pleasant the guys brought out their stash of liquor. There was Vodka and Orange Juice, Tequila and Limes, Rum and Coke, and of course, lots of Corona. By the time we reached the hotel most everyone was feeling tipsy. Tank and Lester had reserved hotel rooms for themselves and they quickly checked in and headed in their own direction. There goes us all hanging out together I mumbled.

Bobby and Carlos got 2 more rooms and I felt my nerves kick in as he opened the door. Before I could run, because that was exactly what I wanted to do, Carlos crushed his mouth over mine. I forgot why I was nervous as his hands let my hair down. I shivered as his fingers traced from my back to collarbone and back again. This time he reached for my zipper and I froze as he pushed my dress off my shoulders.

Resting his forehead on mine he stopped, "We don't have to do this." I knew I was being silly. Carlos was going away for college at the end of the summer. There was no need to hold our relationship back further.

"No I want to. I'm just a little anxious." He smiled and gently kissed me as he pushed me onto the bed, the dress easily slipping off my hips.

He removed his shoes, shirt, and pants, leaving him only in a pair of boxers. I could see his erection straining against the material and it made me blush.

He climbed onto the bed with me, kissing my neck and jaw while working to get my bra off. We had done some petting in the past but always left it above the waist and never had he seen me without my bra. My cheeks flushed when he threw it to the floor and moved his hands down to grope me. I was breathless with the new sensation and before I knew what he was doing my panties were gone as well.

He reached over the side of the bed for his pants and pulled out a condom, easily sliding it on. Moving so he was lying between my legs he cupped my face and kissed me again. I felt something touch my entrance and jumped, "Relax, it's just my fingers babe."

He slid one finger into me and I moaned at the sensation. After a couple strokes he added a second and I tensed at the pressure. It took a couple minutes but it started to feel good again. He sensed my ease and removed his fingers. Never breaking contact with my mouth he slid into me, stopping to let my body stretch to his. "You okay?" He asked

I just nodded. It was tight and a little painful but I wanted this experience with Carlos. He moved gently making sure not to hurt me. It was perfect and I blinked away the tears that formed as he held me in his arms afterwards.

He woke me up two times that night to make love to me again and each time was more enjoyable than the last. The third time we were together I had my first orgasm and Carlos vowed to make me do that every day until he left for college, and he did.

We promised to stay in touch, he would visit when he could and I would go see him when I had a long weekend from school. He was only 3 hours away and we thought it would be easy but it wasn't and we struggled to find the time and money to see each other.

Tank had gone off to boot camp as soon as summer started and that fall when our country was attacked he was sent off to Afghanistan. Carlos had only been away at school for a week when it happened and I could tell it was hard for him to be where he was when Tank was fighting for our country so far away.

Christmas came and I was thrilled to see Carlos. We spent every day together and every night naked in the other's arms. The day he was supposed to leave for school he said he wanted to talk.

"I have something to tell you Stephanie, and I don't think you're going to like it but I wanted you to be the first to know." This was the day I was dreading, the day he came home to tell me he met someone else.

"Just say it Carlos. I knew this would happen eventually." He looked confused and it pissed me off, "You've met someone else right?"

He smiled, "No Steph, there's no one else."

My mouth dropped open, "Well what then? As long as you're not breaking up with me I don't see what I could be mad about."

He sighed and pulled me down next to him. "You know Tank is in Afghanistan right?"

I nodded, "Yeah. I send him a letter every week."

He cleared his throat, "Babe, Lester and I can't…." his voice was strained and I started to feel a new kind of dread. "We can't just sit back and not do our part babe. I'm not going back to school; Lester and I are going to Texas for boot camp. We both joined the Army."


	2. Chapter 2

**For those of you that read Chapter 1 when I was using Ranger's name as 'Ranger', I did go back and change it to Carlos. It was pointed out to me that Ranger wouldn't actually be Ranger until he earned his nickname in the Army. Sorry about the confusion. **

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Carlos and Lester went to Texas for boot camp and were immediately deployed to Afghanistan. The rest of my senior year in high school was a blur. I spend most of my time, when not in class, writing letters to my three best friends and compiling packages to send them. I also got my first job working at a local bakery. Since my mother was a single parent she couldn't afford to help Valerie and I go to school. I was hoping to save up enough money to get me through community college.

Carlos would call me every Sunday. We'd reminisce about our days growing up and he'd always want to know what I was doing, anything to keep his mind off the war. He never talked about it and would shut down if I asked any questions. Our phone calls soon became few and far between and there were nights I'd just lay in bed thinking about what he was doing or if he was even still alive.

Every once in awhile I'd get a letter back from him. The last letter I received broke my heart. It was right before I left for college, my car was packed and I couldn't wait to get away from all the things that reminded me of Carlos. I ran to the mail box one last time hoping for a letter and squealed in delight when I saw the postmark from overseas.

I tore the letter open and read:

_Stephanie,_

_Before writing this letter, deciding to join the Army and leave you in Trenton was the hardest decision I have ever made. Joining the Army has opened my eyes to so many things and I'm not satisfied with the small roll I'm playing in this war right now. Lester and I met up with Tanks squad a couple weeks ago. An Army Ranger came to speak to all of us and we decided to take the next step and join the Rangers. By the time you get this letter we will be in Georgia training. I wish I could have done this in person, or even over the phone, but there was no time between leaving here and getting to Fort Benning. _

_I wanted to write you so you wouldn't send letters and packages to the wrong place anymore. As soon as we are done training we will most likely be immediately deployed, to where I have no idea. As an Army Ranger I will no longer be able to share my location with you. I have no doubt this will make it difficult for us to keep up a long distance relationship and because of the decisions I have made I have no right to ask you to wait for me. _

_In truth, I'm pissed off at the world and all I want to do is fight for our country. I don't know how long I will be away, or if I'll come back alive. Don't cry babe, it's just the truth. You have to accept that we may never see each other again. I swear if I had known this is where my life would take me I would have held you longer the last time I saw you. You are going to be an amazing woman and will make a beautiful wife and mother someday. As much as I wish we could spend our lives together, I have to accept that it's not possible. Not right now. _

_Go to college Steph, have fun, meet lots of new people. Be careful who you fall in love with because if anyone ever breaks your heart like I probably just did I will rip theirs out. _

_I love you_

_Carlos_

_P.S. Tank and Lester say they love you too. _

Pressure was building up in my chest as the panic overloaded my senses. I could taste the salt from my tears as they streamed down my face. It was becoming difficult to breathe and the beat of my heart echoed in my head making me dizzy. I wanted to scream as my mind swarmed with thoughts. I might not ever see or hear from him again. How he do this? How could he break up with me in a letter? He basically told me to go find someone else to love.

Warm arms enveloped me but I couldn't register anything other than the letter I had just received. Whoever was holding me rubbed my back as I sobbed in the middle of my driveway. I felt like a knife had just been stabbed in my heart and clutched at my chest trying to relieve the pain.

I knew I was moving but I didn't care. As far as I was concerned I didn't care about anything anymore. I wanted to call him and every time I thought to do so I was reminded that I couldn't and a fresh set of tears would start.

There were people talking around me and I felt someone prodding my arm. Then everything went black.

When I came to I was in the hospital, the smell alone told me before I even opened my eyes. There was a soft beep coming from somewhere in the room and I could feel something warm on my hand. I peeked through my eyes and saw a dark hand holding mine. Opening my eyes I followed the hand and arm up until I was looking into Bobby's eyes.

He tried to smile but we both knew there wasn't anything to smile about. "Hey beautiful."

"I want to go home. I'm supposed to leave for college." I remembered the letter but tears didn't come this time. Anger was the prominent emotion and, like usual, I wanted to run and hide.

Bobby cleared his throat and leaned forward brushing the hair out of my face, "Stephanie, maybe you should wait a couple of days."

The anger boiled over and I took all the pain I was feeling out on my friend, "I don't' want to wait a couple of days! I want to go to college and fall in love with someone else. Just like he told me to do! I want to forget about Carlos Manoso! He's a liar and never want to think about him again." The beeping of the machine sped up and Bobby's hand tightened on mine.

"Okay Steph. Just calm down and I'll get you home." I knew everything I said was a lie. All I wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep for the next 10 years. Maybe then Carlos would be home and change his mind about us. Bobby stepped out of the room and the silence made me want to scream.

A short woman stepped back in with him. "Hi there. I'm Dr. Giacometti, do you remember what happened?" She asked as she checked the machines and removed the IV from my arm. I nodded, not trusting my voice. "Have you ever experienced an anxiety attack before?"

"No. But I'm fine now. It won't ever happen again." The false confidence was all I was holding onto at the moment. No way was I going to break down in front of the doctor; she would probably make me go to the crazy hospital or something.

"Alright then. I've given your friend your discharge papers; you are free to go at anytime." She nodded to Bobby before leaving the room. He turned around so I could dress and drove me home.

Once in front of my house I turned to him and asked, "He called you to come check on me didn't he?" My friend nodded. "Figures." We sat in silence for a few minutes. "I'm sorry I took up your day over this silliness. Thanks for staying with me though." As I opened the door to step out he grabbed my arm.

"It's not silly Steph. If it makes you feel any better I'm just as hurt and pissed off as you are."

"Yeah well, at least your girlfriend didn't break up with you in a letter and send her friend over to pick up the pieces. If you talk to him let him his message was received. I won't bother him ever again."

"Don't do this…."

"Later Bobby." I shut the door on whatever he was going to say. It was 6 in the evening and my mom was still at work. She probably didn't even know what had happened. Typical, she never really knew anything that ever happened to me. I found my purse and keys on the kitchen table and without looking back, jumped in my car and drove off to start a new life, one without the four people that had stood beside me for the last 12 years.

Carlos was right, I wouldn't hear from him again. I flew through 4 years of college and graduated with a degree in Business Administration. I got a job an hour away from Trenton and worked there for 4 years until the company was bought out and relocated to Chicago. While I was away I dated a couple people but I couldn't offer them what they wanted, my heart would always belong with someone else.

When my mother found out I had lost my job she begged me to come back home, so that's what I was doing Pulling into my driveway I tried not to glance at the house next door afraid that I would see him sitting on the porch or looking out his bedroom window waiting for me.

About a year ago my mom said Carlos and the guys had returned home after completing 8 years in the military. That was the first and only time I allowed anyone to speak about him since I got his letter.

"Stephanie!" My mom shouted from the front door. I plastered a smile onto my face and waved as I exited my car. "Look how much you've grown up!" Guilt flooded through me as she took in all the changes I had made. In the 8 years I was gone I never come home to visit, always finding an excuse to not have the time or money.

"Your hair!" I found the longer I let my hair grow the easier the curls were to manage so it was now half way down my back. "And you're so skinny, come inside. We'll get you something to eat." Skinny? No way, I had gained like 20 pounds since I left home.

"I'm not hungry mom. It's been a long day, I really just want to unpack and go to bed."

She looked sad but nodded, "Okay, we'll catch up tomorrow when you're all rested."

As I stepped into my room I felt myself go back to my high school years. Nothing had changed, including the photos of me and Carlos. Shit. I should have called Mary Lou to come take them all down. I had stayed in touch will Mary Lou and Lula. Mary Lou got married after 1 year of college and had two little ones. Lula was a free spirit and I never really knew what she was up to.

None of us had heard from the guys since the letter. Well, accept Connie. Connie and Bobby got married when she got pregnant. Bobby kept in regular contact with the guys but I always ended the phone call whenever she would bring it up. Connie worked as a receptionist for my cousin Vinnie; Bobby became a paramedic and was just recently hired on as a personal medic for a security company. Connie said there was an administration job available there and that Bobby could put a good word in for me. It sounded like a good idea so I sent him my resume and received a response almost immediately. I had an interview there tomorrow with some guy named Ranger.

It was easy to unpack and I used one of the empty boxes to take down all the memories of me and the guys. If I was going to live in Trenton I needed to at least pretend I had moved on. Once all my posters, pictures, and love letters were put away I stashed the box under my bed and crawled in giving in to exhaustion.

My alarm went off at 6am and I pulled myself out of bed, tying my hair back. I threw on some jogging pants, t-shirt, and tennis shoes. I had found it relaxing to go running in the morning and since gaining some weight thought it was probably a good idea to keep it up.

I was on my 3rd mile and heading through the downtown area when a police car pulled in front of me. Jogging in place I glared as Joe Morelli rolled the passenger side window down, "Stephanie Plum? Is that really you?"

"Yep. I'm trying to run here, do you mind?" I indicated toward his car.

He flashed a smile that would normally melt other girl's hearts. I on the other hand had always despised Joe, more out of loyalty to Carlos and the guys. Remembering how much they hated each other gave me a brilliant idea. I leaned into the car "So, you're a cop now?" I smiled back at him.

Nodding I saw him glance down my shirt which was bunched at the top allowing him to glimpse a little cleavage; "I injured my leg in the Navy and came home a couple years ago." We stared at each other for a few minutes before he said, "Maybe we could grab a bite to eat sometime."

Perfect. "Sure." If Carlos really was back in town this would be the best way to show him I wasn't still upset about the break up.

Joe pulled away and I finished my run jumping into the shower to get ready for my interview.

RPOV

I had come home a year ago and found it hard to get back into civilian life. A friend of mine in Miami had just started a security company and wanted to expand. I thought it would be a great opportunity so we got together, signed papers, and I was now co-owner of RangeMan and ran the Trenton office.

Of course I needed my core team with me so I rounded up Tank, Lester, and Bobby and we found a building on Haywood that worked perfect for us. It was an old apartment complex so we left two of the floors as apartments, 6 and 7 so we could all live together. The 5th floor held a command center, control monitors, and offices, 4th floor was a gym, 3rd conference rooms, 2nd was a medical facility where Bobby lived with Connie and his kid, the 1st was the lobby, and the basement was a shooting range. It felt good to be home with all my guys again.

It was much easier to fall into a normal routine doing something that came natural to me. We had picked up a lot of contracts early on and immediately had to hire staff to help out. Thankfully we had a lot of Army contacts and we found about 15 guys that were retired military to come work for me. Now all I needed was an assistant which Bobby assured me would be taken care of today.

"Hey, do have that girls resume yet?" I asked him as he walked by my office.

He slapped his head, "Sorry man, I left it at home again. I swear, you'll like her though. She graduated with a degree in business administration and Connie says she's real smart. Worked for some big company as an executive assistant before they got bought out and she had to move back home." He walked away before I could ask him her name. He kept doing that and it made me nervous. I wouldn't put it past any of my friends to set me up with a hooker or something.

If she wasn't what I was looking for I was done letting my guys try to find someone. I'd pay my sister or something to help with all the paperwork. Just in case it was all a joke I decided to meet at a diner around the corner. The interview was at 9 and I wanted to get there early so I could scope out the area. It was a habit I wasn't able to break that came from my time in the Army.

As I arrived at the diner I found a seat in the back against the wall and ordered a coffee, black, and waiting for her to show up. Crap, I don't even know her name. This wasn't like Bobby and I was feeling more and more like I was being set up. I glanced around, expecting to see the guys hiding out and ready to laugh. The door to the diner opened and in walked Stephanie Plum. My heart sunk.

My mom had called to tell me she had come back into town yesterday and I planned on going over to see her once she was all settled in. She glanced around, probably meeting a boyfriend or something, when her eyes met mine. She froze and, only because I had known her for all those years, did I see her think about running. That's what she did. Instead of bolting out the door she squared her shoulders and walked my way. Shit. It reminded me of when she tried to jump off her roof and I made fun of her. Internally I smiled at the memory; externally all she saw was a blank face.

"Carlos." She greeted me. I felt something stir inside me at the use of my name. Ever since I joined the Rangers people called me Ranger. Glancing at my watch I saw I had 10 minutes before the interview so I pushed the chair across from me out with my foot and motioned for her to sit.

"You look good Steph." I expected her to smile or blush, instead I cringed as I was met with her famous burg glare. Yeah, she was pissed.

I saw a glimpse of a smile before she shrugged and said, "Yeah well, I've been hearing that a lot lately." I immediately wanted to kill whoever had been looking at my babe but was reminded I gave up that right when I sent her the letter. Not a day has gone by I hadn't regretted sending it. Especially after Bobby called me to say she was having an anxiety attack when he showed up and he had to call 911 because he thought she was inconsolable. It broke my heart to hear how they gave her a shot of Adivan and took her to the ER. I was an idiot and the guys didn't ever miss an opportunity to tell me so.

Clearing my throat I smiled back at her, "People would be stupid to not notice." I didn't want her to know how much I wanted to be the only one praising her. She looked at her watch before glancing around the diner again. It hit me, that bastard, she was my interview. Bobby was dead when I got back. I didn't think she had figured it out yet.

"You meeting someone?"

She nodded, "Yeah, Bobby said there was a position open at this new security company he was working for. I'm supposed to meet some guy named Ranger here at 9." She stood. "It was good to see you Carlos."

Fuck. I could leave and then she would just think the guy stood her up, but eventually she would find out that I'm Ranger and I didn't think that would help in fixing the mess I had created. "Uh Babe" her eyes narrowed, "I mean.. Steph." I cleared my throat and stood so she wasn't looking down at me. Also I wanted to be able to grab her arm when I was sure she would run out the door as soon as I told her she was supposed to be meeting me. "Bobby must have thought he was helping." She looked confused and I stuck my hand out, "I'm Ranger."

A string of explicative's came tumbling out of her mouth and, to be honest, it made me proud. Talking like that she would definitely fit in with the company. "That stupid, sneaky, little jerk!" All eyes turned to us and I tried to get her to quiet down. "Don't tell me to be quiet Carlos! Where is he?" She looked around the diner, this time seeking out Bobby.

"He's probably at the office with a smug smile on his face." And no doubt that smile would be wiped off as soon as I got my hands on him.

Her expression turned sad and hiking her purse onto her shoulder she said, "I'm sorry for wasting your time. I had no idea. I'll see you around."

"Stephanie wait." I grabbed her arm. "Please, let's just sit and talk." There was no sense in wasting the opportunity. She hesitated but eventually sat down.

"So, you're a business owner now." I proceeded to tell her about my decision to go into business with a friend and how the company was set up. She listened intently and at times actually seemed interested. "So what exactly do you guys do?"

"All sorts of stuff. Right now we work with you cousin Vinnie and help bring in FTA's," I paused when she looked confused, "Um, like bounty hunters. FTA stands for failure to appear. When someone is bonded out of jail and they don't show up for their court date we find them and bring them in." I saw a spark of the old Stephanie when her eyes lit up. Of course that would be something she would find entertaining. "We also set up security for homes and businesses and monitor them at the office 24/7. If an alarm goes off someone from the company responds within 10 minutes. There are other things too but that's most of what we do."

"Bobby said he was working as a medic. Is your job dangerous?"

I laughed. "After being in the Rangers nothing really seems dangerous to me anymore." Accept sitting here with you, I said to myself.

Something I said upset her as she stiffened, "Why did you say you were Ranger?" Ah, I was waiting for that question.

"It was my nickname when I was in the Rangers. Tank and I took part of a challenge called Best Army Ranger and I won all 7 years. People just started calling me Ranger instead of Carlos."

Her eyebrows furrowed, "So, would you rather I call you Ranger?"

"No. I mean, you can call me either. Whatever you want babe." She tensed at the nickname and I knew I needed to watch myself around her. It would be too easy to fall back into the comfortable relationship we had growing up. Also, I could tell it bothered her and I didn't want to make her uncomfortable.

"It seems weird to call you something other than Carlos, but…" she was thoughtful for a second, "I guess Ranger fits. I'll have to try it out." I wanted to tell her that she could call me Alice and I'd be happy, but I just nodded.

Going out on a limb I said, "I really do need an assistant. There isn't much potential in this town, if you want the job it's yours."

"I don't know. It might be weird." I swear I heard her mutter something about not even being able to look at my picture but I didn't push it.

"Think about it. For the time being I'm just going to keep letting the paperwork pile up." Hell, I'd probably never hire an assistant incase Stephanie decided she wanted the job one day. "Do you want to come see the office? I'm sure the guys would love to see you. And we could make Bobby really uncomfortable if we both lay into him at the same time."

She laughed, "Oh yeah, he's in so much trouble." I threw some money down for my coffee and led her out the door. I saw her glance at her car, it was the same POS she bought when she turned 16. It made me sad and I wanted to immediately go buy her a new car. Hell, she could have one of mine, I had plenty.

"It's just around the corner. I walked but if you'd rather drive over we can do that."

She bit her lip, probably weighing out the options of a quicker getaway with her car or her legs. "I guess we can walk."

My hand twitched, wanting to reach for hers, so I stuck it in my pocket. The walk over we were quiet and I spent the time trying to figure out how to fix this.

Cal was sitting behind the desk in the lobby and I nodded to him as we pass by heading toward the elevator. Once the doors closed Stephanie whispered to me, "Was that a real tattoo?"

I chuckled, "Yeah." The doors opened on 5 and before Stephanie took 2 steps Lester pulled her into a hug, picking her up and swinging her around. Tank was standing close by, no doubt waiting for his turn to greet Steph. I wasn't surprised to not see Bobby. If he was smart he would have gone home sick.

Lester set Steph down and kissed her on the forehead, "God I missed you." He pulled her close again and I saw her eyes glaze over. As much as she was trying to put on a strong front I knew inside she was thrilled to see the guys. We had been inseparable for years.

"Hey man, I missed her too." Tank teased pulling Steph from Lester. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"Missed you too Tank." She pulled away and looked up at him, "Did you grow again? I swear, you're like a foot taller than I remember."

He smiled at her, "Maybe you're just shrinking." She swatted at his arm but laughed. My stomach clenched wanting to hug her and tease her like old times. I would, eventually, I just wanted her to get used to me being back first. I needed to make up for the pain I caused her.

"So… who can direct me to Bobby's office?" This was my queue.

"Right this way." I smiled, "I'd be happy to show you." This was going to be good. Stephanie had a temper on her that often times put us to shame. I contemplated trying to feel bad for the wrath Bobby was about to have unleashed on him but couldn't find it in me. I was looking forward to watching her put him in his place. And then, once Steph was on her way home, I'd be sure to knock him down even further.

We took the elevator down to 2 and I let Stephanie step out first, I knew the moment she spotted him because her eyes narrowed as her hands settled on her hips, "Bobby Brown! You have a lot of explaining to do mister!"

I stepped out of the elevator and saw him standing behind his desk, hands up. "Steph, you wouldn't let me or Connie talk to you about him, this was the only way."

Her voice went up an octave and I hid my grimace as it echoed off the walls, "The only way? You made me think I had a job interview and that this was going to be some awesome job that I couldn't pass up. Imagine my surprise when I walk in and not only see Carlos sitting at the diner but find out you failed to mention he now goes by Ranger!" She was advancing towards him and he tried to circle around the desk.

"Ranger, help me out man."

I smiled, something I rarely did lately, "No problem Man. As soon as Stephanie is done here we'll go down to the gym and I'll be sure to help you plenty." He paled and dropped his head in defeat.

"Fuck."

Stephanie stopped and cocked her head. "What's going to happen in the gym?"

"Oh nothing much. I'll just be out of commission for a few days when he's done with me. I'm sorry Steph, really. I just wanted you guys to see each other again. If I had known it would put me in the ring with him" he pointed my way and glared, "then I might have reconsidered."

Surprising me, Stephanie spun and narrowed her eyes in my direction, "Carlos Manoso," my back straightened, what did I do? "This is one of your best friends and you're going to make him fight with you because he tricked you into meeting with me?"

The answer was yes, obviously, but I knew that would be a bad answer right now. Instead I just stared at her until she pointed her finger at me and walked my way. She was the only woman who could intimidate me and, just like in high school, I found myself growing hard as my insides try to run and hide, "You will not touch him." God she was sexy when she was mad.

Behind her I saw Bobby smile and I glared at him. Bastard. "Fine." I'd do anything she told me to right now.

"Alright then." She relaxed and then sighed looking between the two of us. "I guess I should go. Probably need to send out my resume and look for a real job." This was directed at Bobby but I felt the hit too. I had offered her the job here, did she not think I was serious.

Thankfully Bobby stepped in, "Steph, we really do need help around here, especially Ranger." There was a long pause, "Maybe you could just help out until you find something else?"

"I guess I could do that." Relief flooded through me. Maybe by spending a little more time together I could tell her how much of an ass I was and how badly I wanted to take back what I had done to her.

Her phone rang as we headed back up to 5. She agreed to stay the rest of the day to get oriented and maybe organize my office for me. "Sorry." She mumbled digging through her purse, "Hello?" The deep timber of the voice told me it was a man. What if she had a boyfriend? I hadn't even thought about how working for me might cause problems for her if she was in a relationship. As quickly as I felt bad, jealousy coursed through me.

She was mine first, we were meant to be together. I didn't see a ring on her finger and that made her fair game. "Sure that works. I'll see you at 7." A flush crept up her cheeks and I had to fight the urge to rip the phone from her and see who had called.

A slow tension built in the small space. Without thinking I hit the stop button on the elevator and turned to her. She was looking at the floor, pretending to study the design, and I knew it was now or never. "Babe." She glanced up, tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry about the letter."

"Please don't. Not now Carlos." She whispered. "I've spent 8 years trying to move past that day I'm not going back there now. You made the decision you made, no apologies needed."

"It was the wrong decision Steph. I shouldn't have…"

"No you shouldn't have!" She snapped making me jump. "But you did, and you broke my heart. We are adults now though so we're going to have to just move on." Like she clearly had. You were too late Ranger, I chastised. Without another word I released the brake and prayed for the strength get through the rest of the day with her.

Once we were in my office I asked, "So, can I ask who was on the phone?"

She blushed again but answered, "Uh, Joe."

My blank face dropped and I stared at her. Surely she didn't mean the one person I spent my life despising, "Morelli?" At her nod I saw red, "And what did he want?" I barked.

She jumped and for a second looked scared. When she squared her shoulders and tilted her chin up I knew I wouldn't like the answer, "We ran into each other this morning and I said I'd go grab a bite to eat with him. He was calling to set up the time."

"You're going to go out with Morelli? Joe Morelli? The kid we spent our entire youth hating?" I let the disbelief drip from my tone.

"No, the kid you spent your entire youth hating. I just went along with it out of loyalty to you. People change _Ranger_." Ouch. Yeah I had my work cut out for me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you all for your reviews! Every time I post a chapter I get worried it's going in a direction nobody will like and then I get reviews that you all loved it! **

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SPOV

It was 5pm and I was walking back to my car. Carlos had offered to walk me back but I declined. Who did he think he was telling me how I felt about Joe Morelli? Although, if I was being honest with myself, I didn't like Joe, never had, never will. But I knew it would eat away at Carlos and that's what I wanted.

When I got to the diner I saw my car had been spray painted. Nice. I guess this was payback for all the times I helped the guys vandalize someone's property. No way was I going to drive this around town having only been back for a day. That would surely start some rumor my mother would have a fit about. She had already called 3 times regarding my dinner date with Joe, apparently he was in the grocery store and a friend of a friend overheard and called her. Sighing I figured I could just hoof it home, besides, I needed to get out all the tension from today.

Carlos confused the hell out of me. At the diner I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw him sitting there staring at me. He had let his hair grow out and it was just above his shoulders. While he was always fit, the Army had done him good. There wasn't an ounce of fat on the man. Even his face looked toned. There were times today where it felt like old times, but then he would stop joking around with me and walk out of the office asking me to organize some file. Men can be so dense.

And what was up with his name, _Ranger._ Who calls themselves _Ranger?_ Ugh! There was no way I could do this for very long. It was fun to see Tank and Lester, even Bobby, but I couldn't spend all day around Ranger and not feel some sort of overwhelming emotion. Maybe I was about to start my period but I swear, all day it was either pissed off or horny as hell.

Lord, that's what'll happen to you when you don't have sex for 9 years. Oh there were definitely opportunities, the few times I dated the guys were always willing, no big surprise there. But I just couldn't allow myself to be that vulnerable with another man. Besides, deep down I kept hoping that one day Ranger would show up at my doorstep and profess his love for me so we could run off and get married. I should probably stop and by a new shower massager. There was no way I could work at RangeMan and not jump him if I didn't have another outlet.

The blare of a horn made me jump and I looked over to see Tank hanging out the driver's side window of a new black shiny Explorer. Carlos was in the passenger seat and from the whistles in the back; I could only assume Lester was with them as well. "You need a ride beautiful?"

I glanced at my watch, 5:45. Holy crap! I had been walking for 45 minutes and was nowhere near close to home yet. I'd have to run the rest of the way and I'd only have enough time to change. No way could I go out on my first date in years sweaty. Sighing I crossed the road and jumped into the back of the SUV.

"Something wrong with your car?" Carlos asked with a smile. The way he said it almost made me think he was behind the new paint job.

"You guys don't still go around spray painting cars and buildings and stuff do you?"

They all laughed, but I noted none of them answered my question.

"We're headed to Pino's for pizza, wanna come with?" Lester asked as Tank re-entered traffic.

"Uh no. I'm meeting someone at 7." At Pino's I added in my head. Shit. What if they were still there when Joe and I showed up together? Maybe I could convince him to go somewhere else.

"We heard." Tank growled from up front. "What are you doing going out with Morelli Steph? Do you know what kind of reputation he has?"

The last thing I needed was a lecture and to be ganged up on about going out with Joe. I mean, they were right. We hated Joe, and yeah he had a bad reputation but…. "Maybe that's why I agreed to go to dinner with him. A girl has needs you know." Carlos stiffened. Okay, so that was mean. But it serves him right, right? My stomach hurt, I didn't want to hurt Ranger, I just wanted him to know how much he hurt me and the only way I could think to do that was throw in his face that I didn't love him anymore, even though I did. I just didn't want him to think I was some silly girl that couldn't get over her first love.

It had been 9 years! Surely he had moved on. He was hot and successful, there had to be women falling all over him.

The silence in the car became deadly and I wished I had just walked the rest of the way home. "Can you stop the car please?"

"Why?" He kept driving.

"Just stop the car Tank. I want to get out." My heart had sped up and my hands were sweaty. After Ranger's letter I knew I had an anxiety attack. That first time it came on quick and out of nowhere. I've had a few others and I knew the signs long before a full blown attack would hit. Usually I could go running or calm myself down but being in a car full of all the tension between Carlos and I was making it increasingly hard to relax.

"We're only a few minutes away from your house Steph. Just chill." This came from Lester and I snapped me head around giving him my best glare. I could feel the panic rising in my chest and it brought tears to my eyes.

Fuck it. If he didn't want to pull over I would just jump out of the car. I hiked my purse up on my shoulder and in one movement unbuckled and opened the door.

The car swerved to the side of the road as Lester grabbed my arm "What the fuck are you doing?" He screamed at me.

"Let go!" I jerked my arm away from him and slammed the door. The tears were unstoppable and my whole body was shaking. Shit, if I didn't calm down I'd be forced to cancel with Joe tonight due to a Valium induced sleep. I was only a few blocks from home and started heading in that direction, running through breathing exercised in my head.

There was some commotion behind me but I ignored it and was able to take a deep breath when I saw them drive past me and disappear around the corner. By the time I reached my road she shaking had stopped and my heart was beating at a normal rate. Stray tears were still leaking out of my eyes but I knew they would subside as soon as I stepped into the shower.

Unfortunately the same SUV I had just recklessly jumped out of was parked at Carlos's mother's house and I wanted to scream when I saw him sitting on my front steps, elbows resting on his knees. He looked up and a mixture of pain and anger was apparent on his face, reminding me of the night I stormed out of the football game after telling him how I felt.

"Just making sure I didn't get kidnapped again?" Sarcasm dripped from my voice.

He scoffed, "Something like that."

I pointed toward the steps and said, "Do you mind? I need to get ready for my date now."

"So you really are going out with him?" His eyes were hard and I tried not to step back as he stood, invading my space.

"Why wouldn't I _Ranger_?" I knew it pissed him off when I said his name like that but I couldn't help myself. The anger and pain from all the years of not hearing from him was eating away at me and the only way I knew how to handle it was to go into bitch mode.

His nostrils flared and he took another step toward me, "Because it makes me sick. Because I'm standing here asking you not to."

Why couldn't he have shown up sooner? Before the pain had manifested into this monster that hated him as much as it loved him. "Ranger is standing here asking me not to, I don't know Ranger. The man I know, Carlos, he disappeared 8 years ago in a letter he sent me." I bumped his shoulder as I walked past him, and turned as I opened the front door, "I still have it if you need a reminder."

"Babe.."

"Don't call me that. The man I was in love with used to call me that and you aren't him." I slammed the door, leaning up against it so I wouldn't fall to the floor. Why did you say that Stephanie? Why would you hurt him like that?

Before I closed the door the anguish on his face was easy to see. Every ounce of me wanted to open the door and run into his arms, beg him to never leave me again, but I wasn't that girl anymore. I spent too many years hardening my heart and closing off my emotions. Never again would I allow a man to hurt me like he did.

I had 30 minutes before Joe was supposed to pick me up so I jumped into the shower, quickly washing my hair. Since this was a casual date I threw on some jeans and a t-shirt. I didn't really plan on sleeping with him so I didn't want to look too provocative and give him the wrong impression.

Since I had grown my hair out it was a bit easier to manage. I added some gel to keep the stray curls at bay and ran down the stairs just as I heard him pull into the driveway. My heart stopped what if Carlos was still sitting on the porch blocking the way to the door?

Flinging the door open I did a quick scan, he wasn't there. The black SUV was still next door but I didn't see the guys anywhere.

"Hey Steph" Joe greeted me.

I wanted to get out of here before there was a confrontation so I shut and locked the front door. "Hey Joe. Ready to go?"

He nodded and we walked in silence over to his truck. After helping me into the passenger seat he ran around to his side. I glanced back at Carlos's house and saw Lester glaring from the front door. This was all wrong. I was going out with a Morelli just to piss off my ex-boyfriend. What I hadn't considered was how much it would hurt the other guys who at one point were my best friends too.

We made small talk on the way to Pino's, mainly I heard about Joe's time in the Navy and how some crazy woman he slept with and he never called after ran him over ending his career in the miltary. He was saying something about getting his first shot at becoming a detective when I saw the black SUV a few car lengths back and internally groaned.

The parking lot was full, just as I remembered, and the smell of garlic, oregano, and tomatoes filled the air. I closed my eyes and breathed in the magnificent scent, shaking away the memories of eating here with the guys growing up.

"Great, the men in black are here." Joe muttered. I opened my eyes and saw all three guys getting out of the car. Why were they doing this?

Tank smiled as we met at the doors, "Hey Steph, Morelli, funny meeting you two here like this."

Asshole. When we got inside it was packed, only two booths available in the back, and they were right next to each other. A smile spread across Lester's face and I had a sneaky suspicion it wasn't a coincidence. Could this day get any worse?

"Hey Cupcake, why don't you go grab one of those tables and I'll grab us something to drink." I was followed by Carlos and Lester and fought the urge to turn around and glare at them. I suddenly realized how incredibly annoyed people must have been when we played jokes on them like this. The laugh just sort of bubbled out and I covered my mouth before they could hear.

By the looks I got I figured I hadn't quieted myself soon enough and it made me laugh even more. The tables were so close you couldn't walk between them and when I reminded myself who I was with the giggles continues. I sat, putting my head in my hands trying to laugh away the day. They had to think I was crazy.

Just when I thought I had myself under control Lester whispered in my ear, "Cupcake?" I threw my head back and laughed.

"I know right?" I looked over at them and saw their eyes glittering with laughter as well. At least, if nothing else, this would be entertaining.

Tank and Joe walked our way, confusion clear on their face. Clearing his throat Joe said, "So Tank thought we should all order together, since we're practically sitting at the same table." Before I could respond Carlos and Lester stood and dragged their table so it was up against ours, creating one long table.

They both smirked at me as glasses were passed around and two pitchers of beer were placed on the table. The waitress stopped by and three extra large pizzas were ordered. An uncomfortable silence settled amongst us before Lester turned to Joe, "So, is this your first date?"

I fidgeted in my seat, he knew full well this was the first time I was going out with Joe. "Yep. I was working this morning and saw Steph jogging through downtown. We chatted for a bit and planned to meet tonight." That was about right.

"Since when did you start jogging?" Carlos laughed. Before he left I hated any activity that made me break out in a sweat. Well, unless it included him and a bed.

I shrugged, "When I went to college I found it helped clear my mind. That and I needed something to help with the freshman 15."

Tank asked something about the Navy and I drowned out the conversation as they started talking war and tactics… blah blah. I realized that Carlos hadn't said much and I had been trying to avoid eye contact with him. My cheeks flushed when I looked up at him staring right at me.

Pizza arrived and the conversation quieted as we all stuffed our mouths. Lester and I were going piece for piece but after 6 slices I had to relent and let him win. He jumped up, pumping his fist into the air, "Yes! Finally!"

We all laughed and I groaned as the vibration made my stomach ache. It was so full I had to discretely pop the top on my jeans. Lester, still standing up called for 5 shots. Two glasses of beer were enough for me and when the shots were set down I pushed mine away, "No way. You guys know I can't hold my alcohol."

Joe leaned into whisper "I'll have to store that information away for later." Shit.

"Oh come on Steph! You telling me in your 4 years at college you didn't learn how to handle a few shots." Tank was always the one to push me beyond my limits.

The guys had already taken theirs and were waiting for me. "Fine." I sighed, grabbing the glass and throwing the liquid back. I always hated the taste of liquor and tried to hide my grimace but by the chuckles at the table I figured it didn't work.

Tank waved for another round and before I knew it I had taken 3 shots of tequila and was working on my 3rd glass of beer. Joe's arm was around my shoulders when the 4th round came.

"Oh no!" I groaned, "No more." I was pretty sure my words were slurring. If I took this 4th shot I didn't think I'd be walking out of Pino's. Without thinking I asked "Whoever ended up with the most number? You know, in high school you two" I pointed to Lester and Joe, "we competing to see who could sleep with the most girls."

Joe leaned back in his chair and smiled, looking satisfied, "I ended up with 35, you?"

Lester laughed, "Shit man, you win." I never knew Lester to just hand over a win, especially to Morelli, so I figured he had actually slept with more.

"How about you guys?" Joe asked the rest of us. I froze, was he just asking about in high school or total? Either way, the answer was the same for me but I didn't want them to know that.

Tank shrugged not answering and I looked over at Carlos. He was starting right at me again and when he answered it was like he was talking directly to me. "Three."

Joe slapped his hands down on the table and laughed, "You only slept with three girls in high school? Damn!"

Three. I knew it shouldn't have bothered me, it was 10 years ago when we first had sex, but knowing there were two girls before me made me sick. I wonder how many he's slept with since he left. My 4th shot was still sitting in front of me and I threw it back, letting the sting of it distract me from the fact that I wanted to cry. No, I didn't care about the two before me; it was however many after me that upset me.

How could he have gone off, break up with me in a letter, and never call me again. Didn't he care how I was doing, what I was doing? No, he only had time to call Bobby and his mother, never me. Maybe he never really cared about me.

"So, other than Steph here, who were the other two?" Joe asked. I didn't want to hear this. Pushing my chair away from the table I excused myself and headed towards the bathroom.

After answering natures call I splashed water on my face. This was such a bad idea. Maybe I should call Eric and let him know I'd be happy to move to Chicago. Surely they would still have a position, any position, I could take.

The bathroom door opened and I rolled my eyes as Lester walked in. "You okay?" I nodded. "You should just talk to him Steph." I started to argue but he put his hands up, "Let me finish. I can't imagine what you went through when he sent you that letter. And I have no idea how you handled the last 9 years. But you and Ranger are one of those couples that are meant to be together. He was an ass and I've reminded him every day. But he also went through some serious shit, we all did, and the only thing that ever seemed to keep him going was you."

"He never even called to check on me Les. I always thought I'd at least hear from him every now and then, but he never called. He never checked up on me. Didn't he care about what was going on in my life?"

"Your wrong Steph." I was tired of people telling me what I was.

"No! I'm not wrong. For the last 9 years I've been addicted to CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. 24/7 I had one of those news channels on following the war." My voice was rising with each word, "every time there was a bomb, or plane crash, anything I couldn't sleep, couldn't breathe, couldn't even go to work. Do you know how many sick days I took where I was actually sick?" He didn't answer me, "None Lester! I spent every sick day I had sitting in front of the computer or TV waiting for your names to be spoken amongst the fallen soldiers! And 9 years later, when you are all home from war I'm supposed to forget all the pain, anxiety, stress…." I couldn't hold it in any longer and Lester caught me as I broke down and sobbed.

"Shhhh…. Steph, it's okay." He rubbed my back and tried to calm me down but I knew there was only one thing that would help me right now and it was at home in my medicine cabinet. I started gasping for air, feeling the pressure building in my chest.

The bathroom door opened and I burrowed further into Lester, trying to hide from whoever just walked in. My mother was bound to get a phone call and the thought made everything worse. Another set of arms enveloped me from behind, turning me so my face was pressed against a hard chest. "Stephanie, babe, calm down."

He held me tight against him and placed soft kisses into my hair. His hand rubbed soothing circles on my back and I felt myself begin to relax. How this man had the power to send me into a full blown anxiety attack and calm me the next minute was beyond me.

There was a loud bang on the door and I heard Joe yell, "Hey, what's going on in there?"

Carlos growled, reminding me of a dog when you tried to take away his bone, which made me chuckle. "I'm okay now." I whispered trying to pull away, "told you I couldn't hold my alcohol." His arms tightened around me before letting me go.

He tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear and looked down at me, unshed tears in his eyes. "This isn't the place to talk. Please come home with me, let me try to explain." I didn't want an explanation; I wanted the last 9 years of my life back.

"You don't have to explain anything Car.. Ranger. It was just the alcohol, really." I felt ashamed for breaking down like I did and prayed that he hadn't overheard how crazy I was while he was away. It would ruin the image that I had moved on.

Joe knocked on the door again and Lester opened it. "What?" He snapped.

"What the hell Manoso, don't you know how to keep your hands off another person's date?" He tried to walk to me but Lester was blocking the door. "Move, before I make you."

"Make me?" Lester laughed, "I'd like to see you try."

I knew everyone getting along wouldn't last long. "Okay guys, settle down." Neither of the men moved and I looked up at Ranger, begging for help with my eyes.

"Santos!" He barked, "step down." Lester glared at us over his shoulder and moved to the side.

Joe started to come towards me but I put my hand up, stopping him. There was already too much testosterone surrounding me, I didn't need Joe's contribution. "I'm going to call someone to come pick me up."

"I can take you home Cupcake." I cringed at the nickname. "We didn't even get a chance to talk, catch up, you know. I thought you could come home with me or something." I felt Rangers hand tighten on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry Joe, maybe another time." He glared at both of the men before storming out. I followed Lester, Ranger keeping his hand on my back, and we met Tank in the parking lot.

He took in our expressions and smiled at me, "So Beautiful, how was your first date?"

Laughing I climbed into the back of the SUV, "Just like all the others."

Ranger sat next to me in the back and Lester turned in his seat, "You always hide out in the bathroom until they leave?"

"Something like that." I chuckled remembering the countless times I had crawled out a bathroom window and left my date high and dry.

Tank paused at the intersection, "Where to?" I knew Ranger, it was weird calling him that, and I needed to talk but, maybe it was the alcohol, I just wanted to keep having fun with my friends.

"Let's call Bobby and go to the lake!"

"We can do one better beautiful." Tank answered and headed towards Haywood.

After a few phone calls and packing the back of the SUV we were headed out of town to go camping. Ranger had handed the reins of the office over to Bobby since he insisted Connie would put him in the dog house if he took off all weekend.

At first it was weird having Bobby and Connie together, her having dating Lester off and on in high school. But they worked, Bobby was laid back and Connie ran the show. It was a little sad not having the full group together but I was still excited to head out for the weekend. I hadn't actually had any fun since Ranger left for college.

The effects of the alcohol had me wanting to be closer to Ranger and I scooted over, resting my head on his shoulder and let the vibrations from the road lull me into sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

It was 9pm when Ranger woke me up. "We're here." The trees surrounding us made everything pitch black and I squinted trying to get familiar with my surroundings.

"I can't see anything." I complained stumbling over a rock. The silence was deafening and I started to panic. They didn't leave me did they? "Guys?"

A hand slammed down on my shoulder, "Boo!"

Naturally I screamed followed by, "You jerk!" and swatted in the general direction of the hand until I made contact and heard a soft 'oomph'.

Three flashlights were switched on and Lester was doubled over, holding onto himself.

"Serves you right," Tank said handing me a flashlight, "we told you to leave her alone."

Ranger and Tank had unloaded the SUV and a pile of camping gear was sitting on the ground. "Uh, how are we going to get all that down to the lake?"

Ranger smiled at me, "We're already down by the lake babe."

I must have looked confused because he flashed his light to the left and it reflected off the water. "We came here last year when we got home and made our own path." Cool.

The guys started unpacking the tents and laying out tarps incase of rain while I gathered wood for a fire. I was watching Tank and Lester when I realized there were only 3 tents. "Do you guys want me to set up the other tent?"

"What other tent?" Les asked. He stopped what he was doing and smile at me, "Oh come on Steph, you never complained when you had to share a bed with one of us before."

"I'll sleep by the fire." Ranger said hammering the last nail into the ground. "No big deal."

Now I felt bad. No way could I let Ranger sleep outside because I was too scared to be close to him. I figured Lester or Tank would let me sleep in their tent but also figured there was an unspoken agreement that if they did that they'd have to deal with Ranger when we got back.

"We can figure it out later." Tank piped in. "How's the fire coming?"

I looked down at the pile of wood, "Um…" He reached into his pocket and threw a lighter at me. Again, I stared at the branches and logs I had gathered. This was totally out of my element, but I didn't want the guys to do everything so I put a few logs on top of some smaller twigs and tried to light a stick on fire. It didn't work.

Ranger squatted down next to me and chuckled. "Don't laugh at me." I grumbled.

"Here." He reached out and took the lighter from me. "First you need some brush or leaves." He walked away for a second and came back with a handful of dried leaves and wood chips. "You want to make sure it's dry so it catches fire quicker." While he talked he took some of the smaller twigs and built them around the mound of leaves, "The smaller twigs will catch fire faster than the logs so those go next." He lit some of the tinder and I watched as the small flame grew bigger until the twigs cracked and caught on. He reached out and grabbed a few of the larger logs, "Once the kindling is burning you can put the logs on top"

We watched until the logs started burning and I smiled, "That looks so much easier in the movies."

"It's not so hard when you have to do it every day." My smile faded and I thought about all the nights he must have been camped out while overseas without food, water, and shelter, making a fire to keep warm. Reading my thoughts he said, "It wasn't so bad Steph."

"So who wants to go skinny dipping?" Lester interrupted stripping off his clothes as he ran towards the water.

"Nobody wants to see your ass Santos!" Tank bellowed. I heard him laugh before a splash indicated he had jumped into the water. "He's going to be sorry. That water can't be more than 40 degrees." The three of us sat around the fire listening to Lester hoot and holler.

My bladder began to protest and I squirmed. When we had been kids I would just run into the woods to go pee, but it hadn't been so dark out and back then I wasn't afraid of bugs and animals. Over the years my bug phobia had increased and I was worried something would try to crawl up my leg when relieving myself.

"You can't hold it all weekend." Ranger teased nudging my shoulder.

RPOV

Stephanie had been squirming for the last 30 minutes and I knew she had to go to the bathroom. As much as she loved the lake she always hated the fact that there wasn't a bathroom. Sure she would usually just run into the woods and go, but she always waited until the last minute and she couldn't hold it anymore.

"I know, I'm going." She sighed. I handed her the flashlight and watched her disappear into the woods. This was nice. When Steph said she wanted to go to the lake I thought it had been a great idea. Then back at Haywood Tank suggested we just take the weekend off and go camping.

I wasn't sure she would go along with it but when he told her what we were doing she seemed excited. I knew he had suggested it so that it would give us a chance to talk. Being that the lake held so many memories for us all I was hoping she would be open to giving me another chance.

Tank and I both jumped when we heard her squeal and ran towards the string of curses coming from behind the trees. "Stupid fucking bugs!" I tried not to laugh at her dancing around and wiping furiously at a cobweb stuck to her arm. I was pretty sure if there was still a bug on her it was more scared of her than she of it at the moment, at least I would have been.

"Come here." I reached for her arm, hiding my smile and wiped the rest of the web from her. Taking her flashlight I scanned her from head to foot, making her turn around, ensuring no bugs were hiding out. "Looks like you scared them away." I chuckled this time and she glared up at me only making me smile more.

One of the things I loved about her was her attitude; it was nice to see she still had it. I just wish she would find someone other than me to direct it towards. "You keep smiling like that and I'll make sure you have a visitor in your sleeping bag tonight." I knew she was trying to threaten me with bugs but I just couldn't help the opening.

Pulling her close I whispered in her ear, "Will she have blue eyes and long wavy hair?" I didn't have to be able to see her face to know she was blushing.

"Stop" she swatted at my stomach and we made our way back to the fire. Lester had extracted himself from the lake and was shivering by the fire, thankfully wearing clothes.

"Jesus it's cold out there." Steph laughed and immediately yawned. It had been a long emotional day for her and I was surprised she was even still awake. When she fell asleep in the car we had made bets that she would sleep right through camp set up and into the morning.

She glanced at the tent I had set up and I knew she wanted to go to bed. "There's a sleeping bag set up for you already. I put your bag in there as well." Really it was my bag but Steph didn't want to waste time running home to pack so I just threw some short, t-shirts, and sweats into a bag for her.

"I'm headed to bed too." Tank said climbing into his tent, "see you all in the morning."

Lester, still shivering said, "Me too man. I'm so cold I think my balls are about to fall off."

"Come on man." I chastised. I was used to Lester saying stupid shit like this, especially since we joined the Army, but usually there wasn't a woman present. He never did have very good manners.

"What?" He asked, "Steph's one of us."

She waved away his comment, "It's fine Ranger. I've heard worse from all of you at one point or another." She stepped into the tent and hesitated, "What are you going to do?"

I glanced down at the fire which was quickly dying out. "I'm going to make sure the fire is set and then I'll call it a night too." I saw the guilt about the sleeping arrangements, "I've slept under the stars plenty of times babe. Like I said, it's no big deal. I'll see you in the morning."

A few hours later I was still wide awake listening to Tank and Lester snore and wondering if Stephanie was sleeping. For the millionth time I changed positions trying to find a spot that wasn't digging into my back. I had put down a tarp and egg shell padding in the tent so I knew Stephanie wouldn't be too uncomfortable.

Closing my eyes I tried to will myself to sleep. I must have dozed off because the sound of the SUV's door closing woke me. I immediately went into Army mode and quietly slipped out of the sleeping bag, making sure to grab my gun I had placed next to me. I knew it wasn't one of the guys because they wouldn't have been so loud. Besides, I could still hear them snoring.

Crouching down, I snuck around the SUV. I could hear whoever it was rustling through our stuff and it pissed me off. Quietly I opened the door opposite the other person and, gun first, stepped into the doorway.

An unmistakable scream came from the other side of the car and the door slammed before I heard her running back towards the tent. Fuck. "There's someone out here!" She shrieked.

"Stephanie!" I called after her.

Tank and Lester were already out of their tents, guns drawn, looking between the two of us.

"Go back to bed you assholes. It was just me." I explained.

Stephanie was shivering but she still turned to me and I saw her temper flare, "Why would you scare me like that?"

Tucking my gun into the small of my back I answered, "I didn't mean to scare you. I heard the doors opening and closing on the SUV and thought someone was stealing from us."

He cheeks flushed, "Oh shit. I'm sorry. I was just looking for a blanket." I had had enough of sleeping on the ground and grabbed my sleeping bag leading her back towards the tent. "What are you doing?"

"Your cold." The look she gave me clearly said 'duh'. "The ground isn't exactly soft babe. We'll both be more comfortable sleeping in the tent." She seemed reluctant for a second before a cold breeze blew past us.

"Okay, fine." It was cramped in the tent but significantly warmer and softer than being outside. Steph shifted around, trying to find a position so she wasn't touching me. I on the other hand was lying on my back, both hands behind my head. Of course this wasn't how I normally slept; I just knew it would leave the smallest room possible for her sleep without finally cuddling with me.

She audibly sighed and slapped her hands down. "You win but no funny business." I felt her curl into my side, head resting on my chest, and I turned slightly so I could wrap her in my arms. For the first time since I left for college I felt every muscle in my body relax and I breathed out a sigh of relief. I smiled when I heard her breathing even out and I knew she had fallen to sleep.

SPOV

The guys were talking right outside my tent. I had been awake for a few minutes listening to them joke around with each other. It was fun to listen to their carefree banter and it reminded me of how much I missed spending time with them.

Lester was whining, "Just go wake her up. I want to go hiking or something."

"Let her sleep, she had a long day yesterday." Tank answered.

The tent unzipped and I smiled as Ranger poked his head in. "I knew you were awake."

"Stephanie! Get up! I want to go hiking!" Ranger was pushed out of the way and I felt myself being pulled out of the tent by my foot.

Still in my sleeping bag I was lying halfway in the tent, half out. "Lester, if you continue to pull me I'll kick you where it counts and this time you won't recover as quickly as you did last night."

He let me go and pouted as Ranger held out his hand to help me stand. "Alright boys, what are we doing today?"

We hiked three miles around the lake before stopping for lunch. There was a picnic area with a playground and boat docking site. We found an empty table and unloaded the sandwiches we threw together before leaving our camp.

We ate in silence; enjoying the scenery and watching kids chase each other on the play structures.

"So, Steph, tell us about college." Tank prompted.

I shrugged, "It was okay. I spent one year at the community college going to school and working full time at Macy's. Right before my sophomore year I received a call from Rider University saying I had been awarded a full ride scholarship. I thought it was joke or they had the wrong person, I mean, I don't even remember filling out an application there, much less taking the time to apply for a scholarship. But they invited me to visit and showed me the letter stating I was to be awarded the money, so I transferred my credits and finished school in Lawrenceville." They guys were nodding and smiling so I continued, " It was nice because at the rate I was going if I hadn't received the scholarship money then it would have taken me twice as long to graduate."

"Wow, that's crazy Steph. Did you ever look into it? I mean, if you don't remember filling anything out, didn't you think it was weird that you were picked?" I stared at Lester. Yeah I had thought it was weird but at the time I just wanted to go to school. If someone wanted to give me money to do it then who was I to question it. They way he asked the question seemed off to me and I noticed his grimace when, I'm assuming, someone kicked him under the table.

"I guess it was weird. Maybe you can help me look into it." If he was so curious about it then he could do the research.

Ranger cleared his throat, "You were always a good student Steph. I'm sure one of your teachers set you up with something. It's good to hear you didn't have to struggle through school though."

I nodded but didn't agree with him. In all honesty, I hadn't thought about it much at the time but now Lester had me curious and I was definitely going to look into where the money came from.

Tank stood, gathered our garbage and said, "Well, let's get going. It's another 4 miles to finish the hike around the lake and get back to camp."

When we got to the clearing, I had spotted a bathroom, and wanted to use the facilities while they were available. Anything to keep me from getting into another collision with a spider web. I shivered at the memory and got strange looks from the guys in return, "Just remembering last night's escapade in the woods and my rendezvous with a cob web." I started walking towards the bathroom, "I'm just going to use these while we're here. Be out in a sec."

After relieving my bladder I headed back to the table to finish the hike around the lake. I could see the guys in a heated conversation, Ranger and Lester seemed to be having an argument and Tank was trying to moderate. They saw me walking towards them and Lester took off down the path.

"What was that all about?" I asked watching him disappear around the corner.

Ranger had his arms crossed over his chest and was glaring after his cousin. "Nothing beautiful. Come on, let's head back." Tank patted me on the back and started down the trail in the same direction Lester had gone.

About a mile into the hike we met up with Lester again. He was sitting next to the lake on a log, skipping rocks across the water. When he saw us he smiled and yelled, "I bet I can still make my rocks skip further than any of yours!"

We headed down to the water and all found rocks with a smooth top. I looked between Ranger, who hadn't said a word since I came out of the bathroom, and Lester who was trying to hide the fact that he was still mad. My curiosity was piqued and I really wanted an opportunity alone with Les to find out what had happened. My guess was it had something to do with my scholarship money, since that's when Ranger started glaring at his cousin, and the more I thought about it, the more I got the feeling I wasn't going to like what I found out.

"On the count of three. One… two… three."

We all threw our stones and I watched as mine skipped 3 times before sinking. "I hate this game. I always lose." The other three stones were still skipping and the guys weren't paying attention to me, but watching as Lester once again won. I squatted down and ran my hand through the water, smiling up at Ranger I checked to see if he was watching me. He wasn't. Alright, here it goes.

Quickly I flicked my hand up, splashing water all over him. I giggled as he looked down at me, mouth wide open. "Sorry." I tried to swallow another giggle as I did it again, catching him by surprise. I had only planned on doing it once but he just looked so serious and we were supposed to be having fun. His mouth closed and he placed his hands on his hips.

"Playing with fire babe." He smiled and stalked towards me.

Holding my hands up, as if to say 'okay you win', I stood up. His smiled widened and before I could take a step back he threw me over his shoulder in a fireman's hold and waded into the lake. I was laughing and squirming to get out of his hold but his grasp was like iron and I wasn't going anywhere. "Put me down!"

He stopped, "Put you down?" I could hear the smile in his voice and knew if I said yes I was going to be dropped into the water.

"No. Carlos Manoso, you put me down over there." I pointed to where Lester and Tank were standing on the edge of the lake.

Teasing he turned around and faced the guys, "Over here?" Before I could answer the world turned upside down and I was thrown into the water.

He didn't! I righted myself and stood up, sputtering, "You are in so much trouble." I lunged at him, grabbing him around the waist and tried to push him over. It was like moving a brick wall. ".Fair." Each word was emphasized by a grunt as I pushed at him.

I could feel him laughing and stood up to glared at him. "Not going to happen babe."

My mouth dropped open as he stared to walk past me, back to dry land. Taking the only opportunity I had left I jumped onto his back, wrapping my legs around his waist, arms around his neck, and leaned back with all my weight. Nothing. He just kept walking. Sighing in defeat I held on and let him carry me back to land.

"The old Carlos would have let me dunk him." I pouted. It was meant as a joke but I didn't miss the flash of pain on his face. Good going Steph. "I'm sorry Ranger… I didn't mean it that way."

He shrugged, "You're right." It didn't seem to bother him and I contemplated that while we continued our hike back to camp. He really had changed, but not all for the bad. Even though I had only with him for the last day I could see major changes in how he acted. He wasn't the reckless kid that I remembered. There were times as kids he would leap right into something, sometimes literally, before thinking of looking first.

Now, he analyzed everything before he did it. Even when he carried me out into the water, there was a few seconds where I could see him processing what he was going to do. In a way it made me feel childish. Even though I had gone through 4 years of college and worked for a large company for another 4, I never took the time to put my life together. I was still driving around my POS car from high school, I paid my bills as they came in, sometimes later, and I was currently living at home with my mother working for my ex-boyfriend.

I had a lot of things to figure out when we got back to Trenton. The reality of the situation made me sad. All those years I had waiting for a phone call or a letter, something to help me keep up hope. Maybe that's why I never settled into a life, I was waiting for what I thought was my life to come back home. Now that he was here I was more confused than ever.

Part of me was overjoyed to have him back in my life. Without Carlos, or… I mean Ranger, I would have spent all my school years alone. Not to mention, at the time, he knew everything about me, everything! There wasn't one thing I kept from him. I've had friends since him, and none of them ever came close to what Ranger and I had. Even before we dated. After we were together, he made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, crazy curls and all.

While I didn't date much, the dates I had always looked at other women while we were out. That, among other things, was part of the reason I never could open up to them. There were so many things that reminded me that they weren't him.

But why didn't he ever reach out to me? How could he love me, as much as he claimed he did, and not care about where I was? Was he really content to never speak to me again? If I hadn't walked into the diner, set up by our mutual friend Bobby, would he have just waiting until we ran into each other in town? Those were the questions that made me frustrated, made my heart speed up, made me want to scream at him and make him feel all the pain I've been feeling.

We were nearing the camp and I had worked myself up enough to possibly ruin the rest of the night. He had been walking behind me, bringing up the rear of our group and I spun around, "How could you just never check in on me? I just need to understand all this Ranger and that's what confuses me the most." I had caught him off guard and his eyes were wide, not expecting my change in behavior. He didn't answer me and it fueled me even more. "I honestly don't know how I'm supposed to be friends with someone that abandoned me for 9 years. I mean, were you ever going to try to get back in touch with me? Just to see how I was or where I was? There wasn't a minute that went by that I didn't think about you and try to find you. Do you know how many arguments Bobby and I got into because he wouldn't give me your address? God, I just wanted to hear your voice or send you a letter letting you know I would have waited. You didn't even give me a choice Carlos! I need to understand," I choked on my words and felt my eyes fill with tears, "please."

"Don't cry Steph." He stepped closer to me and wiped the tears from my eyes. "There is no explanation, none that make what I did okay."

Was that all he had to say? There had to be more, that he was so torn up over the war he didn't have time to think about me. That would hurt worse than the thought that he did think about me but never acted on it. As if he read my mind he said, "I thought about you ever day Stephanie. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't wonder what you were doing, where you were, who you were dating. I wrote you so many letters trying to apologize, to ask you to wait for me but, I didn't know how long I was going to be gone for and I didn't want you to waste you life waiting for me."

"But that should have been my choice Carlos."

"If it was what you wanted then that was okay. But I wasn't going to ask it of you. You wouldn't have told me no Stephanie. I already had so much guilt over things I did to hurt you, I didn't want to add to it."

I understood what he was saying but it wasn't enough. I still didn't understand why he never wanted to check in with me. "Wasn't I worth fighting for? Wasn't what we had worth knowing what I was doing? You called Bobby that day, you knew you broke my heart but you never thought to see if I had found a way to cope?"

He just stared at me. I couldn't tell what was going through his mind and it pissed me off. I needed answers and he wasn't giving them to me. Well, he wasn't giving me the answers I wanted.

Tank and Lester had been quietly listening to us until this point. Tank looked at Ranger, "Tell her."

Ranger's eyes narrowed at his friend. "Tell me what?"

When Ranger still didn't say anything Lester answered for him, "That he not only spent every minute thinking about you, but every chance he got he called to find out what you were doing."

"Shut up Lester."

"That when he found out you were working full-time and struggling to pay for school we all put our money together so you could go to Rider. That whenever he spoke to his mother he wanted to know what your mother had told her about your life. That the first time he found out you were seeing someone"

Ranger got in Lester's face, "I said shut the fuck up."

Lester met his cousin's glare and for a minute I was scared they would come to blows. "She wants to know. Either you tell her of I will. If we have to fight this out then we do it, but Steph was just as much our friend as she was yours and we had to give up contact with her because we were your friend too." They continued to stare at each other but when Ranger didn't make a move Lester continued, still staring right at Ranger, "when he found out you were going on a date he took a suicide mission and almost got himself"

His right fist connected with Lester's jaw before Tank could step in. Ranger and Lester were throwing punches, Tank trying to get between them, taking a few meant for the other. I didn't know how I could help; I looked around frantic, trying to find a way to break them apart. There was nothing and it upset me to see my friends fighting. Not only that, but what Lester said was starting to sink in and I needed to get away before I broke down. Grabbing a flashlight I took off in the opposite direction of the guys brawl.

Once I had made it far enough way that I couldn't hear them fighting I let myself break down. I shouldn't have said anything. Everything had been going great and then I had to go and push it. I'm always saying things at the wrong time. No wonder I never had any friends. It was miracle the guys even wanted me to go camping with them.

I absorbed everything Lester said, they had all paid for me to go to Rider. Dumbfounded didn't even begin to describe how I felt. Why would they do that? And, okay, so I had been wrong. Ranger did check up on me, often, but why didn't he ever call me? He had no idea what I would have given to hear his voice. So many times I just wanted to know that he was alive. I gasped as I remembered what Lester was saying before Ranger hit him. He went on a suicide mission? It became hard to breathe when I thought about him dead. Lester said he almost got himself… killed? I know he didn't get to finish his sentence but that was the only thing I could think of that he was about to say. My worst nightmare wasn't ever seeing Carlos again; it was knowing he was no longer on this earth.

I felt the first stirrings of rain and decided I had given them enough time to cool off. I stood and turned to head back to camp. After walking 10 minutes I stopped, maybe I had gone the wrong way. I flung the flashlight around but all the trees looked the same. Shit!

The rain started pouring and I could hear thunder way off in the distance. Good job Steph, you not only got yourself lost but now there's a storm coming. Could you fuck up this trip anymore? I walked back in the direction I had just come from; I must have just gone the wrong way. I didn't wander too far into the forest when I left camp.

10 more minutes and everything still looked the same. I saw lightning flash between the trees and the thunder shook the ground. I let out a shriek, "Ranger!" If I was close to camp they would hear me, I really couldn't have gone very far. "Tank! Lester!"

Lightning hit again, followed by the deep thunder. There was no way they would hear me over this. In a panic I started running. I was sure the lake was to my left and if I could make it to the bank I could follow it around to camp. Easy right?

What if they were still fighting? What if they beat each other unconscious? What if they didn't want to find me because I ruined what should have been a fun reunion? The rain had made the floor of the forest slick with mud and I kept slipping as I made my way towards the lake. Or that's where I hopped I was going. Lightning cracked a few feet away and I screamed. As soon as the thunder passed I wailed "Ranger!"

I could feel an anxiety attack quickly approaching as another bolt of lightning hit close to me. I curled up at the base of a tree and cried. They'll find you Steph, either that or the storm will pass, I kept telling myself. I sat like that for what seemed like hours, but was probably only twenty minutes. The storm kept on. I was wet, cold, tired, and lost. Okay, keep going. You'll eventually get to the lake or to camp. I stood and started to walk when I thought I saw light through the trees to my left.

I turned and ran that direction. "Ranger!"

The flashlight hit me and stopped, I couldn't see who was holding it because it was blinding me at the moment but I didn't care. Another crash of thunder and lightning hit and I ran right into his arms and buried my face in his neck. One breath told me it was Ranger and I let out a sob of relief.

"We need to get back. There's a tornado warning for the area." A tornado? In New Jersey? Lord I really had pissed off a few God's hadn't I?

His hand was my lifeline and I squeezed onto it, fearful that if I let go I would get lost again. We walked for about 15 minutes before I saw the clearing for camp. Tank and Lester had everything packed up and were waiting in the SUV. Ranger opened the back door and pushed me in quickly following.

"Jesus Steph. You sure did pick the perfect opportunity to run off." Lester scoffed from the front.

"You're the idiots who decided to get into a fight." I crossed my arms and glanced out the window. The rain was coming down so hard and fast I couldn't see more than a foot out.

We were all soaked putting us in bad moods. Tank was slowly following a path away from the lake and my stomach turned. I hated not having control in these types of situations. What if we ran off the road and into a ditch? Who would find us?

Ranger leaned over the back seat and grabbed a blanket. He scooted closer to me "Take off your shirt Steph." I stared at him open mouthed. This was not the time to be getting friendly. He rolled his eyes "You're shivering. Come on, who knows how long it will take to get out of here. We need to warm you up. You were out there for over an hour." An hour? It didn't seem that long now that I thought about it. He was right though, I was freezing and sitting in my wet clothes weren't helping.

Resigned I pulled my shirt over my head. "You pants too." It's not like he hasn't seen it before. I unbuttoned my pants and worked them off. He tucked the blanket around me and I immediately started to warm.

"Thanks." I looked over at him and for the first time noticed he had a split lip and a bruise forming on his left cheek. His clothes were also soaked and I could see little tremors in his hand indicating he was trying to hide how cold he was. "You should get under here too. Wouldn't want you to get pneumonia or anything."

"I'll be fine." He leaned forward and rested his head in his hands. It made me sad to see him look so defeated.

I softened my voice. "Ranger." When he didn't respond I reached out and touched his shoulder. He turned his head to look at me. "If I have to sit back here basically naked so do you."

This earned me a small smile and he reached over his head to pull his shirt off. I nodded towards his pants and he sighed, "I don't have anything on underneath."

He didn't mean it to be anything other than what it was, but it sent a shock straight to my core that I hadn't experienced since he left. "Oh. Well, I won't look." I won't look? What the hell Stephanie, it's not like you're in high school anymore. Real mature.

He chuckled and slid his pants off, pulling part of the blanket around him. It put our thighs against each other and I tried to control my pulse. His arm wrapped around my shoulder, pulling me close and sharing his body heat with me. Leaning into my ear he whispered, "I wasn't worried about you looking babe." I shivered, this time not from the cold, and his grip on me tightened.

Tank yelled from the front, "Whatever you two are doing, stop, before I make you put your hands where I can see them." We all laughed. "There's a hotel up here I'll stop at. No way am I going to try to drive back to Trenton in this shit."

We pulled into the hotel parking lot and Tank ran in to get rooms. Lester would have gone with him but he was afraid the clerk wouldn't give us rooms with his face all bloodied. Ranger had landed some good hits, it made me feel bad. Sensing my mood change, Lester smiled, "Don't worry Steph, we've done worse to each other."

"I'm so sorry guys. I shouldn't have started anything. This is all my fault, we were having such a good time, I don't know why I…"

Simultaneously they interrupted me, "Not your fault babe," … "Stop Steph"

Ranger sighed, "I shouldn't have gotten that mad."

Tank jumped back into the driver's seat and threw a set of keys back to us. "Uh Tank?"

"Sorry beautiful, they only had 2 rooms left."


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay, first let me apologize for the delay. I know many of you have been anxiously awaiting an update from me and probably thought I fell off the earth. Unfortunately falling off the earth probably would be a lot less stressful than dealing with the end of my school career! I have been cramming for tons of finals and studying for my medical exams but found some time today to wrap up this story. **

**I've hated that this was left hanging and I know this is a quick wrap up but hopefully will allow enough closure for all you faithful readers. Maybe once my internship is over with I will have time to do a sequel. **

**Thanks for you patience and Enjoy! **

* * *

The hot water from the shower felt amazing. We had only spent 1.5 days camping and I hadn't realized how much I missed plumbing. I let the water run over my back, stalling in hopes of Ranger being asleep by the time I was done. Of course there would only be 2 rooms left, and, again, of course Tank and Lester would stick me and Ranger in the one with only 1 bed.

Sighing I turned the water off and quickly dried myself off. Most of our stuff was soaked but between the 4 of us we found enough dry clothes to get us through the night. I pulled on a pair of Lester's boxers and one of Tanks t-shirts. I couldn't help the giggle that broke through when I looked at myself in the mirror. Tanks shirt was down to my knees and with my wet hair, let's just say I wasn't very attractive looking.

What do I care though, I don't need to impress Ranger. Ha. I would be lying to myself if I didn't admit the effect this weekend was having on me. At first seeing him in the diner I thought I was going to have a stroke. Then I let the anger come, but as always, he found a way to make me laugh, and cry. He paid for my school? Shit, they all paid for my school?

The guilt washed over me and I sat on the toilet holding my head in my hands. I was such an ass to him about sending me that letter and dropping off the face of the earth. It made sense to me now why Lester told me I was wrong at Pino's. I had said he never checked up on me and when Lester told me I was wrong I didn't stop to think about what. Has he always been checking up on me? Maybe I should have tried harder to find him, check up on him.

I jumped when he knocked on the bathroom door jolting me out of my thoughts. "You okay Steph?"

God I loved his voice. "Yeah" I opened the door to see him leaning on the door jam. He was wearing a pair of boxers and I couldn't help myself when I raked my eyes over his body. The swell of his shoulders, his 8 pack of abs, I wanted to run my hands over his chest and pretend that the last 8 years hadn't happened.

He must have read my mind because he closed the distance between us, capturing my chin in his hands and connecting our lips. At first the kiss was gentle, but as soon as I wrapped my arms around his neck I could feel his need. The kiss opened and we let our tongues explore, while Ranger moved us away from the bathroom and towards the bed.

I needed this. There was no way I would tell him to stop. 8 years without sex is too much to keep control with this man in my arms. Of course things could change in 8 years. What if I had forgotten what to do, how it all worked? He's probably been with tons of women, all of whom probably knew what they were doing in bed.

He pulled away from me, concern shining through his eyes. "What's wrong babe?"

What do I tell him? Oh nothing it's just been 8 years since I've had sex and I'm worried you'll think I'm boring in bed? A smile spread across his face letting me know I had actually just said that out loud. "Um… did I say.."

He nodded and smiled wider as my cheeks turned a lovely shade of crimson. Stupid brain to mouth filter. "Do you have any idea how much I want you?"

Not able to form any words I shook my head. "Bad babe." He pressed his hips into me and I could feel his erection pressing into my stomach. "There is nothing about you that I could ever think was boring." He pressed his lips to mine again causing me to groan. Okay, maybe I'll suck at this, but it's worth a shot right?

Our kisses became frantic and before I knew what was happening he pulled my shirt over my head and pushed me onto the bed. The look in his eyes were primal and, if not for being half naked and know what he wanted to do to me, I might be scared. He pulled his boxers down letting his erection spring free. Was he bigger? Before the panic set in again he pulled the boxers off of me and a salacious smile spread across his face. "Fuck Steph." He looked torn for a moment before grabbing my ankles and pulling me to the edge of the bed. "I wanted this is be romantic but, shit, it's been a long time for me and I've dreamed about this day since the last time we were together."

He was standing between my legs, this length pressing against my thigh. My breathing became erratic as his hand slid up my leg, right to my center, eliciting a groan from deep in his chest. "You are so fucking wet." And in that moment he is filling me, holding my hips as my legs wrap around his waist, thrusting deep into me.

He stands starting down at me, eyes filled with passion and longing. It doesn't take long for the pressure to build and I moan as his movement increases. I close my eyes and relish the feel of him, letting every thrust take me higher. He picks up the pace, the sound of our skin slapping as it meets. Each time he fills me I can't help the cry, praying that Tank and Lester can't hear us. "Come on Steph" he growls out letting me know he can't last much longer. The sound of strain in his voice throws me over the edge and I scream out his name as my insides convulse around him. He freezes, squeezing his eyes shut, and I can fill him spilling into me before he collapses on top of me.

We lay like this for what seems like hours, literally wrapped up in each other, before he lifts me and pulls me up the bed. The rain has picked up and the sound is almost deafening and I can hear the thunder off in the distance working its way towards us. Ranger wraps me in his arms, my back to his front, and nuzzles his nose into the back of my neck. Placing a soft kiss on my shoulder he squeezes me to him and I drift off into the best night sleep I've had in 8 years.

The next few weeks Ranger and I spent as much time as possible together. I continued to work for him at RangeMan and we would have dinner in the evenings. Sometimes the guys would join us other times it was just the two of us.

While I still had some difficulty wrapping my mind around the 8 years he wasn't in my life, there wasn't a day that went by that Ranger didn't try to make it all up to me.

I was right about my car. The destruction was at the hands of Lester and Tank, though they swear Ranger didn't ask them to do it. I never believed them, especially when Ranger assigned me a company car once we got back from our camping trip. How convenient.

He says he likes buying things for me and as much as his spending makes me uncomfortable at times, his gifts are always very thoughtful. Ranger always found a creative way to give them to me as well. At first I would find flowers or jewelry in my room, or he would ask me to pull a file and inside would be tickets to the theater.

Much like today I wasn't expecting a gift, but he had one for me anyway.

"Hey babe, let's go grab some lunch."

I smiled as he took my hand and we headed down to the garage. "Where are we going?"

He shrugged, "Wherever you want to go."

He was waiting at the garage exit for me to tell him so he knew which direction to turn. "Pinos?" I squeaked out.

What I had learned about Ranger was he took his health very seriously. He was always taking me to off the wall restaurants that serves bark and grass. Well, not really, but the good all natural stuff that tasted like that. Which I why I was a bit shocked when he agreed to Pino's.

The parking lot was empty, which was not normal at any time of day, much less a Friday at noon. "Do you think their closed?"

I didn't receive an answer because he climbed out of the car and was opening my door like everything was normal. Taking my hand he lead me to the entrance and still didn't seem unnerved by the fact that the place was empty.

"Ranger, don't you think this is weird?"

He shrugged and motioned to the waitress that had appeared behind the bar. She came over smiling carrying two waters with her.

Without consulting me he ordered, "I'll have the grilled chicken and vegitables and she'll have the meatball sub."

The girl nodded and headed back to the kitchen. Ranger raised an eyebrow at my glare, "What?"

"What if I didn't want the meatball sub?" He just stared at me. "Maybe I wanted pizza."

"Do you want pizza?" I just stared back because, no, I don't want pizza, but that wasn't the point. He smiled and reached over for my hand suddenly serious. "Steph, are you happy?"

"Of course. Aren't you?"

He nodded and squeezed my hand before smiling and getting out of his chair. I assumed he was headed to the bathroom so imagine my surprise when he knelt before me and pulled out a black box from his pocket. "Babe, Steph," he cleared his throat, "I made the biggest mistake of my life when I cut you out of my life. These last few weeks have reminded me why I couldn't never move on or fall in love with another woman. You stole my heart the day we met and you tried to fly home and you've never given it back." My vision became blurry as I processed what he was saying. "I don't want to make any more mistakes when it comes to you. Please, marry me Stephanie."

"Yes" I whispered and launched into his arms. "Yes, yes, yes, yes."

He laughed and held me close "Thank you."

When we broke apart I jumped at the sudden appearance of all our friends and family filling the seats at Pino's. "You planned this?"

He smiled, of course he had all this planned. "But how did you know I would say Pino's."

"Really babe?"

Even though we had been separated for so long he still knew me better than any other person every would. Which is exactly why I happily became Mrs. Carlos Manoso.


End file.
